Individuals undergoing medical care in a hospital environment commonly require arterial therapy (e.g., invasive monitoring of blood gases) or the infusion of intravenous fluids, particularly during and after surgery. It is important in such therapy that the patient's wrist be properly oriented in an angled position to easily receive and start the arterial or intravenous line. A continuing need thus exists for an economic, convenient and effective apparatus for supporting a patient's wrist and forearm for such therapy.
Traditionally, arterial and intravenous lines have been administered by supporting the patient's arm on an improvised armboard formed by a flat piece of rigid cardboard or wood and securing the patient's arm thereto with strips of adhesive tape. Towels or other padding materials have been positioned beneath the patient's wrist to properly angle the wrist to receive and start the arterial or intravenous line. The padding materials are removed once the line has been started. Such prior techniques are tedious and utilize the time of valuable hospital personnel who would otherwise be free to perform other duties. In addition, the materials used in constructing such armboards are not always readily available and are relatively costly.
The traditional armboards, moreover, often do not properly position the patient's wrist to receive the line and are uncomfortable for the patient. Because prior armboards have not normally been shaped to accommodate the contours of the patient's arm, a relatively hard surface is presented which does not conform to the shape of the patient's arm. Adhesive tape is thus required to stabilize the arm, such tape tending to abrade hair and skin in the contact areas and frequently causing adverse skin reactions.
It is also not uncommon with the traditional technique for a patient to accidentally disconnect the arterial or intravenous line by flexing his wrist, or for a nurse or other medical professional to require substantial time to start the arterial or intravenous line. Aside from the costly nature of such start-up time and required restarts, the time for starting and restarting the line may be detrimental to the patient's welfare.
The present invention obviates the disadvantages associated with the traditional armboards by providing a preformed unitary support which can be readily and inexpensively manufactured by a simple molding process. Wide resilient foam straps replace costly and skin damaging adhesive tape to secure the patient's arm to the support. The straps effectively immobilize the patient's wrist and thus prevent wrist flexing. The support is anatomically shaped to fit the contours of the patient's arm and to position the patient's wrist at the proper angle for accurate and efficient handling of the arterial or venous puncture. The support also includes a removable flexible pad dimensioned to be optionally positioned beneath the patient's wrist to thus increase the angle of orientation of the wrist for receiving and starting the arterial or intravenous line. Once the line is started, the pad is removed. Because the support is contoured to fit the shape of the human arm, the patient's arm is supported in a comfortable and relaxed position.